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Southwest Area Plan: staff propose new street connections, sidewalk infill and bike/transit actions
Summary
Planning staff presented draft transportation recommendations for the Southwest Area Plan, including official mapping of several street connections, sidewalk gap closures, separated bike lanes on Whitney Way, Hammersley path extension and a proposed roundabout at Cross Country/Maple Grove/Nesbitt; staff seeks commission feedback before finalizing draft actions.
Urvashi Martin, a co‑project manager in the Planning Division, presented draft transportation actions for Madison’s Southwest Area Plan on Dec. 3, summarizing months of outreach and proposed transportation priorities.
Urvashi said the plan’s transportation actions respond to public comments about speeding, missing sidewalks and limited north–south bike connections. Key recommendations include officially mapping the Meadow Street Drive extension to South High Point Road (carried forward from a prior neighborhood plan), filling sidewalk gaps during reconstruction and through Safe Streets funding, extending the Hammersley path toward Elmore Park, and adding separated bike lanes on the Whitney Way segment between the BeltLine and Raymond Road. For the intersection of Cross Country Road, Maple Grove Drive and Nesbitt Road, staff propose a roundabout to improve safety and traffic flow. “We are recommending installing a roundabout at that intersection,” Urvashi said.
Staff also flagged transit issues: comments requested restoration or added service on Hammersley Road and additional peak buses on Route D, contingent on funding. The plan includes prioritizing 12 corridors for Vision Zero (Vision 0) speed analysis and partnering with Madison Metro and MMSD on actions such as evaluating busing for students on Schroeder Road if designated unusually hazardous.
Commissioners praised the outreach and asked staff to consider more north–south bike routes, to coordinate street connections with the DOT BeltLine/Pell study and to clarify when a planned street implies vehicular access versus pedestrian/bike‑only access. Ben Zellers and other staff said officially mapped streets indicate public (vehicular) streets on the plan’s official map, while shared‑use paths appear on the bicycle/path network map.
Staff said the plan will proceed through additional commission and committee check‑ins and public review, with a goal of handing a draft plan through the committee review process in April–May for council adoption.
